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Angels of War: Remembering Australian Army Nurses
Angels of War: Remembering Australian Army Nurses was a digital media exhibition presented at Federation Square that explored how emerging technologies can be used to tell historical stories in accessible and public-facing ways. The project was developed at RMIT as part of a studio class I taught in Digital Media (School of Design), in partnership with Federation Square and supported by the Victorian Government and the Victorian Veterans Council.
The exhibition commemorated the contributions and sacrifices of Australian Army Nurses through a combination of digital experiences designed for a large outdoor civic space. Visitors engaged with the project through a Virtual Reality (VR) experience, an Augmented Reality (AR) trail across Federation Square and a motion design work presented on Federation Square’s Digital Façade. Collectively, these works formed a temporary outdoor “digital museum” that allows community to engage with historical narratives and artefacts beyond traditional museum environments.
The project served as an experimental teaching and research studio exploring how digital design can operate in transient open public spaces. Federation Square is a highly dynamic space with constant flows of people moving through it for a variety of reasons. Designing for such a setting required careful consideration of how digital experiences could attract attention, communicate meaning quickly and remain accessible to audiences with varying degrees of familiarity with immersive technologies.
Designing a Digital Exhibition for a Public Square
Unlike traditional museum exhibitions where visitors arrive with a clear intent, the Federation Square setting introduced a different context for engagement – many people encountered the exhibition while simply passing through the space. Some paused out of curiosity, discovering the AR trail or VR experience unexpectedly. This spontaneous interaction became one of the defining characteristics of the project.
The AR application allowed visitors to explore digital exhibits around the square, revealing untold stories about Australian Army Nurses through their mobile devices. The VR experience provided a more immersive narrative encounter within a dedicated booth space. The youngest participant to try the VR experience was eight years old, while the oldest was seventy-eight – demonstrating that immersive digital storytelling can be designed in ways that are approachable and engaging across generations.
Weather conditions highlighted the realities of designing for outdoor environments. Rain on the second day of the exhibition greatly affected foot traffic. These conditions reinforced the challenges of designing digital media experiences that are resilient within unpredictable public contexts.
Studio-Based Learning and Public Engagement
The exhibition originated from a digital media studio in which students worked in production teams to research, design and develop all exhibition content. Due to pandemic conditions at the time, the studio- initially planned for face-to-face delivery, needed to be delivered entirely online due to COVID restrictions. Students collaborated remotely to produce site-specific AR, VR, and video works for a location they had not yet experienced physically.
This created unique design challenges. Students had to anticipate how audiences might move through Federation Square based off a floor plan, how scale and visibility would function in an outdoor environment and how to communicate historical narratives respectfully while still producing engaging interactive experiences.
Although the studio concluded a year before the exhibition was mounted, many students returned to Federation Square to install their work and engage with the public directly through their projects. For several of them (myself included), it was the first time meeting classmates in person after collaborating virtually. The event therefore became an extension of the learning experience, allowing students to observe audience behaviour, gather feedback and reflect on how their work functioned in a real-world setting.
Direct engagement with the public also exposed students to the realities of designing for diverse audiences. Some visitors were familiar with immersive technologies, while others were encountering VR or AR for the first time. Conversations with visitors helped students understand how different users approach interactive systems, reinforcing the importance of inclusive design practices.
Designing for Accessibility and Public Confidence
The exhibition took place shortly after COVID restrictions had been lifted, which meant that public comfort with shared VR equipment was still evolving. Hygiene protocols were therefore an important part of the exhibition design and operational setup. Clear cleaning procedures and equipment management helped ensure that visitors felt safe engaging with the VR experience.
These considerations formed part of a broader aim of the project: exploring how immersive technologies can be introduced to the public in accessible ways. Rather than positioning VR and AR as specialist technologies used only in controlled indoor environments, the exhibition demonstrated how they can be deployed in open civic spaces where diverse audiences can encounter them organically.
Historical Context and Community Engagement
The exhibition also created opportunities for dialogue around the historical contributions of Australian Army Nurses. Commodore Greg Yorke CSC RAN, Chair of the Victorian Veterans Council, visited the exhibition and engaged with the VR and AR experiences. His insights into the historical significance of Australian Army Nurses added valuable context to the project and reinforced the importance of commemorating these stories for contemporary audiences.
The public response over the three day exhibition was positive, with many visitors expressing appreciation for the opportunity to engage with Australian military history in a new and interactive format.
Reflections on Digital Design in Civic Spaces
The Angels of War exhibition demonstrated the potential for digital design to activate public spaces and create accessible forms of historical storytelling. By situating immersive technologies in a highly visible civic environment like Federation Square, the project invited people who may never visit a museum or gallery to engage with cultural and historical narratives.
For students, the project extended learning beyond the classroom and beyond the academic semester. Observing how members of the public interacted with their work-pausing unexpectedly, asking questions, or sharing reflections-provided insights that cannot be replicated in a studio environment alone.
The project highlighted how digital design can operate as a bridge between education, history and community engagement. By combining immersive technologies with thoughtful storytelling and public accessibility, Angels of War demonstrated how temporary digital exhibitions can create meaningful encounters with the past in everyday civic spaces.
Project Team
Associate Professor Li Ping Thong (School of Design, RMIT University)
Funding / Support
Victorian Veterans Council (Victoria State Government)
Federation Square